Latest news from QFVG
We’ve got your back with clear, reliable updates so you never miss the information that matters.
For growers and industry: Subscribe to QFVG News for the latest advocacy updates, QFVG events, and partner opportunities.
For media: Join our Media Distribution List to receive QFVG media releases and official announcements direct to your inbox.
IR Unpacked 2025: Understanding IR Changes & New Minimum Wages
QFVG's Partner Who Cares, and leading workplace advisors, Focus HR provides a full breakdown of what all businesses need to know about the new and significant IR changes and the new minimum wage decision which came into effect on Tuesday, 1 July 2025.
From risky to ready: Taking control of farm risks
As a grower, you are your business.
You know it all – from the soil, to the lay of your land, who to call when that tractor plays up, even everyone’s wages.
But what happens if you’re suddenly off-farm? Whether it’s due to illness, injury, a natural disaster, or simply on a long-overdue holiday. How would your business carry on without you?
Protection Visas: Let's change the conversation
The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme is one key piece of the horticulture industry’s workforce puzzle.
A listening ear and helping hand
Far North Queensland growers are no strangers to nature’s challenges. But when Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper swept through in late 2023, it left damage and disruption that would rattle even the most experienced farmer.
Queensland leads the way on farm workplace compliance
Queensland’s horticulture industry has been recognised as a national leader in workplace compliance, following the release today of the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Horticulture Compliance Report 2021–2024.
Finding common ground on soil health
Growers recently came together in Goomboorian with a shared goal: building healthier soil for stronger, more resilient crops.
Grower feedback shapes future support for Queensland horticulture
Queensland’s horticulture industry is taking a big step forward with data-driven insights that promise smarter, more resilient farming.
Hort Connections 2025: tech, treats & trends
From curious confections like beetroot ice cream and carrot marshmallows to state-of-the-art precision technologies and AI, last week’s Hort Connections Conference was a showcase of current and emerging solutions across the supply chain.
Queensland grit shines on
As Australia’s most disaster-prone state, Queenslanders certainly bring the grit when it comes to navigating everything mother nature throws at us.
2025 Fair Work minimum wage review
With Fair Work’s Annual National Minimum Wage Review just announced and taking effect from the first full pay period after 1 July, now’s the perfect time to get ahead and make sure your business is prepared.
Why strategy still matters - even when the weather doesn’t care
In horticulture, the phrase “best laid plans” often feels like a cruel joke. A bumper harvest can be ruined by unexpected rain, an oversupplied market, or external factors like tariff shifts.
Have your IR/HR questions answered
With only a handful of sessions left, if workforce is keeping you up at night… this is an opportunity not to be missed.
Get ready for superannuation guarantee changes
From 1 July 2025, the rate of superannuation guarantee is increasing from 11.5% to 12%.
Incorrect wage payments cost Chatime over $290,000 in backpay, penalties
One recent case serves as a reminder that those who make executive decisions that result in contraventions of minimum conditions, may be held personally liable for such decisions.
IR Unpacked
Join QFVG Partner Who Cares, and leading workplace advisors, Focus HR, as they provide a full breakdown of what all businesses need to know about the new and significant IR changes and the new minimum wage decision coming into effect on Tuesday, 1 July 2025.
Expanded disaster assistance guidelines a win for Queensland horticulture
State industry body for Queensland fruit, vegetable, and nut growers – Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG) – has welcomed today’s announcement that will see the definition of a primary producer amended allowing greater access to support under the join Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Unpacking ESG for growers
Ask around in the horticulture industry about ESG, and you'll get mixed reactions. Some growers have never come across the term, while others are already knee-deep in reporting.
When purse strings become chains: The hidden cost of market domination
Coercive control and financial abuse are key topics for May’s “Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month” but while most public conversations and events will rightly focus on individual victims of this harm, advocates for fresh produce view this abuse through a different lens – one where we see systemic, systematic, and deeply damaging relationships within our own industry.
Fair Farms: Changing the compliance story in Australian horticulture
Fair Farms was launched in 2019 in direct response to the Harvest Trail Inquiry, which revealed that half of the 638 horticultural businesses investigated had breached workplace laws.
Safeguarding against seesawing weather
“We had to beat the rain,” said grape grower Walter Campbell. He was helping a neighbour with their harvest the previous afternoon, after neighbours had helped him some weeks earlier.